Forget Grand Slams \u2014 these are grand entrances. On Monday, Day 1 of Wimbledon, Naomi Osaka made the case yet again that, when it comes to on-court fashion, she is, if nothing else, completely changing her game.<\/p>\n
This time around \u2014 and even though there was a last-minute kerfuffle about whether she would even be able to appear, given a foot injury<\/a> \u2014 Osaka, the 14th-seeded player (and former world No. 1), did her walk-on in an all-white look by Hana Yagi, an independent Japanese designer, entitled \u201cEvolving Ceremony.\u201d Modeled on a traditional kimono as well the junihitoe, or 12-layer dress worn by noblewomen in the Heian period from 794 to 1185, the gown was made from seven different textiles upcycled from vintage kimonos, a traditional shiromuku wedding dress and a deconstructed wedding dress.<\/p>\n Like the Nike performance dress<\/a> Osaka wore underneath, which alluded to Japanese kirigami with its floral appliqu\u00e9s and micro-pleated and curving hem (and which sold out<\/a> even before the tournament began), the design of the walk-on dress and the choice of designer were conscious nods to her Japanese heritage. She was even wearing jewelry from Mikimoto, the Japanese jeweler famous for its pearls.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking with Hana allowed us to celebrate Japanese history and craftsmanship while creating something that feels entirely modern,\u201d Osaka said in a statement. \u201cI love that it feels both powerful and delicate at the same time.\u201d And, she added, it is \u201cdesigned around movement.\u201d<\/p>\n The look is effectively Act 3 of an ongoing story that began with the Australian Open earlier this year. Fashion has always been a part of Osaka\u2019s competition appearances, as it was (and is) for Serena Williams<\/a>, who has used her competition looks to express her personality more overtly than anyone else in tennis, and Jannik Sinner<\/a>, a Gucci ambassador. But something else was going on with Osaka.<\/p>\n It was in Melbourne in January that Osaka emerged from the tunnel onto center court in a Robert Wun gown<\/a> made to resemble a jellyfish. Her butterfly hat hinted at the birth of something new and her status as a young mother. She shed the formal outer layer when it was time to start the match.<\/p>\n